


Favor

by redscout



Category: Brooklyn Nine-Nine (TV)
Genre: Flashbacks, Gen, Gender Issues, Non-binary Rosa Diaz, Non-binary character, Trans Jake Peralta, Trans Male Character
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-10-21
Updated: 2018-10-21
Packaged: 2019-08-05 05:42:07
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,215
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16361945
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/redscout/pseuds/redscout
Summary: Rosa comes to Jake with an issue that reminds him of their past.





	Favor

**Author's Note:**

> hey b99 fandom im new here and ive come to write more trans jake be nice to me  
> this is set like mid s3. vaguely after the swedes. just something ive been thinking about  
> a few disclaimers: im trans im a trans writer. also i dont know how police academies work and i dont care if dormitories arent actually gendered. lastly, sorry this is so short, the ending is kind of abrupt. enjoy

“Peralta. Can I talk to you about something?” Normally, this question would garner a flinch out of Jake; it was a kneejerk instinct to assume that ‘talk’ actually meant ‘lecture’, and that ‘something’ really meant ‘something you have done’. However, he doesn’t flinch, but it’s only for who’s asked the question.

“Rosa?” he asks, glancing up to stare into her face. She looks troubled, and if he had even had a joke, it dies on his lips. “Yeah, what’s up?”

“Not here,” Rosa states, glancing around. “Evidence room,” she adds, and then stalks off. Jake sits there confused for a time afterwards, unsure of how to approach the situation; Rosa wasn’t exactly the person he _talked about something_ with. If anything, she made extra sure of that. So he couldn’t help but be a _little_ worried about her insistence, concerned for her wellbeing.

Instead of dwelling on it even further, he chooses to stand, cautiously, and follow her into the evidence room after another moment. She’s standing with her arms hugged around herself as if stressed when he enters, and his eyebrows furrow.

“‘Sup?” he offers. “Wait, no, inappropriate. What’s up?”

“I need to ask you about... your... situation,” she mutters, and Jake looks confused.

“My... situation... romantically? Sexually? Financially? ...Sexually? It’s still Amy,” he tries, not understanding what she’s getting at, and Rosa groans.

“No, like... I’m sorry. This sucks. Your gender,” she clarifies. He freezes on instinct, and then nods after a moment, hands on his hips.

“Okay... What about?” He pauses. “Are you giving me another opportunity to say ‘No tit Jake’ because Amy keeps shutting me up? ‘Cause I’m saying it again, no tit Jake!”

“No,” Rosa says.

“Ah,” Jake returns.

_He’s glad for how well he passes, as his roommate looks deeply concerned when he enters, toting his few treasured belongings along with him._

_“What are you doing in here?” she asks, harshly. “Dorms are gender-restricted.”_

_“Stupid, right?” he says. “Papers say I gotta stay here. Government hates me real bad.”_

“Stop me if this gets insensitive,” she precedes. “When did you know? Or, how. How did you know.”

“We’ve had this discussion before, right?” Jake asks, quietly, a little taken aback by her sudden resurgent interest in his ‘situation’.

“Maybe,” Rosa says.

_”What’s that supposed to mean,” she hisses._

 _“See, funny thing, my papers all say ‘F’, but that’s wrong, I’m not F, definitely M,” he says, trying hard not to stumble over his words or drop his uncomfortable smile. “Unfortunately, the academy,_ I guess, _isn’t allowed to do anything about that, so I get stuck in a dorm I really don’t wanna be in with someone who really doesn’t wanna dorm with me.”_

“Well, I mean... I dunno.” Jake shrugs. “That was forever ago now. It wasn’t so much I instantly knew I was a dude, just that... something was _off_.”

“Explain,” Rosa demands. Jake sighs, throwing his hands up.

“It’s kind of a complicated feeling to...” He pauses, composing himself. “It’s like a _main character revelation._ ”

“You know I don’t get your movie terms, dude,” she returns.

_”Who said I didn’t wanna dorm with you?” she bites back._

 _“I assumed you did. By your tone. When you asked why I came in here,” Jake says. The girl stares at him. “Hi. I’m Jake. Peralta.”_ Damn, _he thinks, a second too late,_ I really should’ve said McClane.

“When the feeling that you were always _different_ makes sense,” he explains. “Because you’re the main character, who gets badass powers and stuff, for being different. You realize you had been all along.”

“That seems weirdly self-serving,” Rosa observes.

“I’m also definitely implying trans people have badass powers, don’t mistake that turn of phrase as anything but literal,” Jake clarifies. “Why do you ask?”

_”Diaz,” she says, finally. “Rosa Diaz.”_

_“Nice to meet you, Rosa.” Nobody in the room moves. “Your bed?” he asks, small, pointing to the bunk she’s standing closest to. She says nothing. “Cool, cool cool cool... I’ll take the other, then, I guess.”_

_“Sure,” she says._

“I, uh...” Rosa pauses. Jake watches her facial expression closely, examining how nuanced her signs of stress are. She looks deeply troubled now. It makes him sad. “I think I might not be a girl,” she finally forces out, not looking at him.

“Oh!” he exclaims. “So like—“

“But... not... a guy, either,” she finishes, quietly.

_”You know, if this isn’t cool or whatever, you can have me moved,” he offers. “I don’t mind sharing a room with nobody.”_

_“That was the plan, originally,” she returns. “But, it’s cool.”_

“Oh, Rosa,” he says, fondly, attempting to meet eyes with her. “But that’s cool.”

“Is it,” she says, hoarsely.

“Uh, doy, why wouldn’t it be cool?” he responds. She glances up a little.

_”It is?” Jake asks._

_“Yeah. Why wouldn’t it be,” she returns._

_“Rosa, my friend—“_

_“Not friends.”_

_“Rosa, my freshly-inducted roommate, you would be very surprised to meet the 90% of the population that hates trans people,” he says, evenly, a goofy smile coloring his features._

_“Sucks to be the 90%, then,” she says, and goes back to unpacking. Jake stares after her for some time, a little dumbfounded. He thinks their personalities are going to clash pretty hard; while he’s enjoyed the little interaction they’ve had so far, he can’t imagine still being friends after the academy._

“Obviously, I’m not like that,” he starts. “I mean I am like that, sort of, not non-binary, not _not_ binary, I’m definitely binary, and not that there’s anything wrong with _not_ —“

“Jake,” she interrupts.

“Yeah, sorry. No, I mean, I think it’s great you feel that way,” he speaks, candidly. She pauses for a long time.

“Yeah?”

“Totally. Gender sucks, when you figure it out finally, it feels pretty good,” he says.

“Yeah,” she returns, nodding gently. “I don’t know for sure, yet, but... Yeah.”

“It’s okay to not know, too,” he adds. “My period of questioning was longer than I’d like to admit.”

_He’s 14. For some reason, he doesn’t like hearing his name called anymore. Gina apparently realizes how serious the situation is, because she’s quick to quiet down. He’s not sure what to tell Nana, or his mom. Maybe he just shouldn’t have a name anymore._

“Yeah. Questioning,” she parrots.

“What pronouns are we working with here?” he asks, gently.

“I’m okay being called she,” Rosa confirms. “Just don’t like being ‘a girl’. Why can’t I just be ‘Rosa’.”

_Maybe he could just be ‘Jacob’. That’s a better name. Gina likes to say it. He’s not sure what he feels or why._

“I feel that,” he offers. “Okay. You’re just Rosa, then.”

“We could try ‘they’, too,” she suggests, quieter.

_All he knows is he feels better like this, somehow._

“Of course,” Jake says. “What about the squad?”

“No,” they say, quickly. “Just you. For right now.”

“Okay, yeah, that’s cool,” he says.

“Jake,” Rosa begins again. “Thanks for this.”

“You don’t have to thank me,” Jake says, still reminiscing lightly on their past together. “You did the same for me.”

“You’re a really good friend,” she states. “And... no tit Jake,” they add, softly.

“No gender Rosa!” he fires back, excited, and she offers him a little smile as they begin to exit the evidence room in tandem.


End file.
